


Earth

by Liv_andletdie



Series: Zelink week 2018 [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: F/M, I didn't do so well with the prompt this time but I'm still really happy, Zelink Week 2018, first time writing Hylink, slight sexual tension, there's flirting, two adults standing in the forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 07:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13829880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liv_andletdie/pseuds/Liv_andletdie
Summary: He did not claim to be an expert in the ways of Gods or deities. He did not claim to be an expert in the ways of monsters or demons. He only knew that they existed, that they walked among the people, sometimes hidden from view and other times in plain sight.





	Earth

He did not claim to be an expert in the ways of Gods or deities. He did not claim to be an expert in the ways of monsters or demons. He only knew that they existed, that they walked among the people, sometimes hidden from view and other times in plain sight. He had seen them, fought for and against them, first hand. Their actions and reasons indecipherable to the knight with the holy weapon. 

So he wonderen then, why he was so surprised to see Her standing in the clearing. 

Her Grace, Her Holy Majesty, The Goddess of Time and Light, _Hylia._ She stood in front of a gnarled and ancient tree, her hand pressed lightly against the bark. She seemed to be listening, her eyes shut as she concentrated on the world around her. 

Link hid. This morning, when he awoke to the sound of bird song, he had decided to take a walk in the woods. He had been granted a day off by the people, some time to rest and recuperate before the hordes began to attack again. He’d given them a difficult fight, and he tried not to be proud of that accomplishment, but it had earned his people a few days to mourn their dead and live their lives. 

He’d not expected, however, that he would run into a Goddess on his excursion out of town. 

He crouched behind a bush, eyes locked on Her Holiness. Everything about her was breathtaking. Her gown hung from her body, white silk sleeves dragging across the ground as she moved, her white hair was loose, tumbling over her shoulders and back, and her pale skin shone brightly in the mid morning sun. It almost hurt to look at her sometimes. 

He was transfixed by her, kneeling in the dirt behind the bushes. A small part of him wondered if this was wrong, to gaze upon a goddess without her knowledge. But as he hid, listening to the sound of her voice as she sung ancient hymns, he couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty. 

Her song came to an end, the air falling silent for a moment before the world around them burst into life. The sky seemed bluer, the grass greener, and the birds broke into their own song filling the air with music. Hylia’s eyes were still closed, a soft smile on her lips as she listened to the orchestra around her. He watched as she breathed, deeply and evenly, almost meditating. 

Then she stopped. Her eyes shooting open. Link felt the air rush from his chest at the sight of her impossibly blue gaze, fixed on the bark of the tree in front of her. Slowly, a smirk found its way to her lips, causing his blood to race in his ears. 

“I know you are there, my Hero” she said, her voice carrying through the air. He felt the ground shake at his knees, his chest suddenly felt tight like there was a strange weight settling in his ribcage. She’d felt him, she knew he’d been watching her, that he’d been intruding on what was surely a private moment between her and the land. 

A musical laugh cut through his thoughts as she turned to face him, her eyes shining brighter than the sun. “Arise, courageous one” she called, holding her hand out to him. Link pushed himself off of his knees, keeping his head bowed as he approached her. 

“Do not lower your eyes” She commanded, her tone soft yet powerful, “You have done no wrong” her hand slipped under his chin, her touch setting a fire against his skin. He could feel his heart stop as her eyes met his, brilliant never ending blue captivating and holding him. 

“You have a beautiful voice” he found himself saying, shocked by his own openness. The Goddess before him only smiled, no blush stained her skin, no flustered giggle left her lips. Her hand dropped from his chin, his skin feeling colder without her close to him. 

“Thank you” She said, admiring the way his cheeks turned red, “Would you care to join me?” 

Link swallowed back his nerves, his eyes fixing on the tree next to him. He cleared his throat slightly, suddenly unsure of how to talk. His words getting caught in his chest. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know how to sing, Your Grace” He could feel her smile next to him. Joy and light radiating in waves off of her. She stepped closer to him, not seeming to notice how the air became electric between them. 

“You needn’t know to sing” she whispered, her hand reaching down to hold onto his wrist. Link turned his eyes back to her, lingering for a second on her lips, before he found her eyes. He could hear his heartbeat thunder under his skin, his throat going dry as she lifted his hand with hers. “You need only listen” Hylia pressed his hand against the bark of the tree, her soft skin a dangerous contrast to the rough and timeless wood, “and focus” 

She let out a deep breath, her eyes sliding shut once more as she focused. Link, shamelessly, selfishly, took that time to look at her. It wasn’t often that one found themselves nose to nose with a heavenly creature, let alone time and light herself. 

One of the things that struck him was that she looked like a woman. From first glance she was almost indistinguishable from the maidens that tended to the wounded after each battle. Her hands were soft to the touch, her neck and face free of all flaws. The Hero was not blind, he knew a beautiful woman when he was stood close to one, and yet the more he looked at Her Grace the more he saw. 

Despite the fact that her skin was so smooth, she was scarred. Lines of pale silver littered the skin over her neck, one particularly jaggard line reached from under her chin to her shoulder, hidden by the neckline of her dress. She was also impossibly pale, her hair and skin the colour of porcelain, her lips tinted a pale pink. Link tired to keep his thoughts pure as he watched her breathe, her chest moving up and down in her long silk dress. He wondered absentmindedly if she even needed to breathe. 

“Can you feel it?” she asked, cutting him off from his train of thought. Her eyes glazed over with a faint golden film as she opened them. He was still fixated on her lips, her skin, her hair. She was so close. Why was she so close? 

“Feel what, Your Grace?” 

“Time” She said it like a prayer, her breath leaving her in a loving gasp. He tried to keep his thoughts clean, tried not to stray too far into the realm of fantasy. “Time is all around us, it connects everything. We are all bound by time… even Gods” Her fingers trailed over his wrist, teasing his exposed skin. It was incredible how she could leave him so breathless with just the barest touch of her fingertips. 

“You’re affected by time?” The notion was absurd to him. 

“Everything is. This land is ancient, she has her stories as you have yours” 

She was getting closer, it was his imagination, his desire playing havoc with his mind. He swallowed, tongue darting out to wet his lips. She remained impassive before him, her eyes still covered with that golden film. 

“You have stories” She hummed, her eyes trailing over his face. He got the feeling that she was seeing more than just him, she was present in more times and places than there with him in the woods. Everywhere at once. 

“I doubt they’re very interesting” he whispered, watching the way her silver scars shifted in the light. She smiled lightly in response, the corner of her mouth tilting upwards slightly. 

“I find you very interesting Link” 

He felt his breath catch in his throat, frozen in place with his hand against the tree. He watched her blink the golden film from her eyes, the impossible blue shining with full force. Her eyes dragged over him, as if she was assessing each part of him, staring into his spirit, staring into his mind. Her fingers trailed lazily up his arm leaving a burning path over his skin. 

And then she removed her hand, taking all warmth with her. Link fought back a shiver as Hylia turned to face the tree once more. Freed from her gaze he allowed himself to release the breath he had been unknowingly holding. How could she paralyze him with words alone? How could she torture him with nothing but a look? His years in the dungeons almost paled to the pain of not being able to reach out and hold her, or think about her! 

The Gods were fickle. One minute they found you _interesting,_ keeping you alive past your means to see what would happen, but soon they tired of you and left you to die at the hands of a Bokoblin army. Link prayed that she found him interesting enough to let him stay close to her. 

“Do you enjoy the woods?” she asked, folding her hands in front of her stomach. He was too dazed to speak, just nodding mutely in response. He did enjoy the woods, he always felt at peace surrounded by a nature he was deprived of. The high walls of the town reminded him of a cell, keeping him trapped, pinned down like a caged animal. It was too busy, too loud, there was too many people in the town. Out in the woods, free from all prying eyes, he could relax and breathe in the sickeningly fresh air. 

He didn’t need to tell her all that, she already knew. 

“I come here sometimes” she continued, her shoulders drooping slightly as she cast her eyes skyward towards the green canopy above them. “Every leaf has a voice. Every flower and stone, every shoot, every ancient oak. They all worry about how their story will end” 

Link thought she looked devastated, crystal clear tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. 

“Time does not flow in the same way for me as it does you” she clarified, her eyes fixing on his, “I exist in every age. I was there when this land was created, I was there when it fell. I have seen the lives of these trees a thousand times over, I have felt their suffering as I feel the suffering of my people. I fear I will have to confront their end now. That Demise will be too strong, that these woods will burn. I’ve seen them smoulder, I’ve smelt the smoke” 

Hylia’s eyes never left his. She shifted her body to face him once more, standing both too close and too far. Link tried to smother the urge to take her hand in his, to press a kiss against her silver skin, to trail his lips over her neck listening to the way her breathing was sure to catch. 

“I don’t want them to pass without knowing that I care” She whispered, a crystalline tear trailing over her cheek. Unthinkingly Link reached out, the back of his knuckle grazing against her skin as he wiped the tear away. He felt her gasp, his heart skipping a beat at the sound. 

“I’m sure they know, Your Grace” he whispered, his traitorous fingers tracing her jaw. He imagined her relaxing into his touch, gazing at with with love in her eyes as he pulled her closer. But such a thought was fantasy. 

It had to be a fantasy. 

“Do you know?” she asked, a maelstrom of emotions swirling in her eyes. She sounded almost panicked, almost desperate. Her hand moved, as fast as the lightning found in Lanayru, holding his fingers against her neck. He could feel a pulse thrum under his fingertips, racing faster and faster the longer she stared at him. 

“A-all the people know. They know you care for them” He choked out, intoxicated by the feel of her heart pounding in time with his. 

“I am not talking about the people, Link” 

An eternity passed in silence. The birds fell quiet, the wind stopped blowing. Everything around them was still, frozen in time as the Hero, the Knight, the Man with the unbreakable spirit, stood face to face with his Goddess. 

And then he kissed her. 

_~Fin~_

**Author's Note:**

> WOOP First Hylink fic I’ve ever written! I love this pairing, they’re really fun to write (I’ll have to do more Hylink fics I think). I realise this has more to do with time than it does with Earth which is the prompt, I was trying to focus on Hylia’s connection to the earth around her and how she has watched it change around her (she is an ancient goddess after all) I am sorry for the cliffhanger ending. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I’ll see you tomorrow for the next prompt x


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